Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Ryan Graves played four Junior A games with the Yarmouth Mariners and skated for the Canadien Tire Mustangs midget team in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. He had no points and 4 penalty minutes in four games with Yarmouth, including three playoff games. Graves scored 5 goals with 7 assists and had 58 penalty minutes in 32 regular season games for the Mustangs and had 6 assists with 8 penalty minutes in five playoff games. He represented Team Nova Scotia in the 2011 Canada Winter Games and had 1 assist and 4 penalty minutes in seven games. Graves was selected by Prince Edward Island in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft.

2011-12: Graves appeared in 62 games for Prince Edward Island in his first QMJHL season and represented Canada Atlantic in the 2012 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 2 goals with 7 assists and was -23 with 34 penalty minutes for the Rocket. PEI missed the playoffs after finishing last in the Maritimes Division. Graves had no points and 2 penalty minutes in five games for Canada Atlantic at the WHC.

2012-13: Graves was one of three player to skate in all 68 games as the Rocket were one of the QMJHL’s big turnaround stories. He scored 3 goals with 13 assists and was +7 with 90 minutes. PEI finished third in the Maritimes Division, winning 41 games. Graves was -2 with no points and 6 penalty minutes in the six-game playoff series with Val d’Or. Ranked 116th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings, he was selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.

2013-14: Graves opened the season as an assistant captain for the re-christened Charlottetown Islanders (formerly the Prince Edward Island Rocket), skating in 39 games before being acquired by Val-d’Or as part of a multi-player trade in January. He scored 3 goals with 9 assists and was -2 with 52 penalty minutes before joining the Memorial Cup-bound Foreurs. Graves scored 2 goals with 8 assists and was +10 with 22 with 16 penalty minutes in 26 regular season games for Val d’Or. The Foreurs rolled through the playoffs after finishing first in the West Division, defeating Baie-Comeau in the QMJHL finals. Graves scored 1 goal with 7 assists and was +12 with 24 penalty minutes in 24 playoff games. He had 2 assists and was +1 with 4 penalty minutes in four games at the Memorial Cup. The Rangers signed Graves to a three-year entry-level contract in March 2014.

2014-15: Graves was obtained by the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts in an off-season trade with Val-d’Or — making his debut in November after recuperating from off-season shoulder surgery that kept him out of the New York Rangers’ training camp. An assistant captain for Quebec, he had career highs in goals (15) and assists (24) despite skating in just 50 regular season games and was +17 with 49 penalty minutes. The Remparts finished second to Rimouski in the East Division and lost to the Oceanic in the QMJHL finals; competing in the Memorial Cup as the host team. Graves scored 5 goals with 6 assists and was +11 with 25 penalty minutes in 21 QMJHL playoff games. He scored 2 goals with 3 assists and was +1 with 4 penalty minutes in five games at the Memorial Cup. Graves played for the QMJHL All-Stars in the Subway Series against Russia and was -1 with no points nor penalties in two games.

2015-16: Graves played for Rangers’ AHL affiliate Hartford in his rookie professional season, earning an invitation to the AHL All-Star Game. A fixture in the lineup for the Wolf Pack as a 20-year-old, he scored 9 goals with 11 assists in his first 71 games and was +5 with 53 penalty minutes. Hartford finished fifth in the Atlantic Division, missing the AHL playoffs.

Talent Analysis

Mostly a defensive blueliner, Graves is big, uses his body well and has good positioning.

Future

Graves made a smooth jump from junior hockey to the AHL in 2015-16, skating for Rangers' affiliate Hartford. Providing both hard physical play and some scoring from the blue line, he was selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game. He projects to be a second pairing defenseman and his progress in his first season with the Wolf Pack suggests he may be NHL-ready sooner than expected.

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